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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26078425">May I Have This Dance?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayani_Iriel/pseuds/Kayani_Iriel'>Kayani_Iriel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Raventrust Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>World of Warcraft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ballroom Dancing, First Kiss, Ghosts, M/M, Raventrust, Raventrust Week 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:41:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,622</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26078425</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayani_Iriel/pseuds/Kayani_Iriel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Khadgar's never been the sort to enjoy a set of dress robes, but at Medivh's request he dons them to experience a night in the Karazhan Ballroom, ghosts and all.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Khadgar/Medivh (Warcraft)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Raventrust Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893232</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>May I Have This Dance?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Raventrust Week 2020, the prompts were Quiet Night or Attending a Ball Together</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You have dress robes around here, don’t you?”</p><p>I raised my head from the book I was reading, taking a moment to process what was said. “Dress robes? Certainly, somewhere. Why do you ask?”</p><p>Medivh crossed the library, stopping in front of me. “Because, Young Trust, I need you to wear something nice tonight.”</p><p>“The last time I dressed up, I was in Stormwind and a demon came through the window. I’m not so sure I want to relive that.”</p><p>He chuckled, a rich sound. “Fear not, no demons will be involved.”</p><p>“Will I be expected to play Leader of the Kirin Tor and Archmage, and make small talk? Drink wine and eat canapes, and dance with noblewomen?”</p><p>“No. You’ll find this evening more enjoyable. Be ready at eight.”</p><p>He swept from the room, and like that, the library was colder, sadder, with his absence. I tried turning back to my book, but my concentration was shattered. What was he planning?</p><p>After re-reading the same page four times, I sighed and set it aside. High level elemental summoning and the side effects on local weather patterns would have to wait for another day. I didn’t need the information anytime soon. It was a just in case, as so many scenarios in my life seemed to depend on randomly acquired knowledge.</p><p>A glance at the clock told me I had plenty of time to prepare for whatever Medivh had planned, provided my formal robes were easy to find.</p><p>That being the biggest concern, I went to my chambers to look. At first, the wardrobe turned up nothing but serviceable, every day outfits. Pressing further back, I found the nicer clothes I wore for Kirin Tor meetings, visits to Stormwind or Orgrimmar, and other times when spots and stains gave off the wrong impression.</p><p>Eventually I pulled them out, two sets of nearly identical dress robes. Deep blue, like just before the sky gives way to total darkness, with a rich mahogany trim, and polished accents. No collar on them, but overlapping feathers on the mantle, done in truesilver. Heavy as anything I owned, and uncomfortable after a few hours, but impressive. I surveyed them, choosing the set in better shape. The others were put in the front of the closet. I wanted them cleaned.</p><p>I summoned water for a bath, using a spell for heating it. No sense in getting the servants involved. I sank up to my neck, pondering. What had Medivh planned? And what would he be wearing? Neither of us was the fashionable type, but he had a sort of flair for the dramatic I appreciated. I assumed it would be a departure from his usual day wear of browns and greys, or those faded blacks he was fond of. Like me, he seldom dressed up. Life in the tower was simple: spells and books, education and research. What good were fancy robes for that?</p><p>I considered my hair in the mirror. I needed a trim, but had a feeling that trying to cut hair myself, even with the help of a spell and scissors, might be a terrible choice. Instead, I brushed it, and tamed as well as I could with a bit of pomade, hoping no one we saw tonight would care.</p><p>I cursed my robe’s weight, and hoped we weren’t taking a gryphon. They were strong, strong enough to carry heroes in armor, but they might balk at all the shiny excess I was wearing. Damn formal requirements.</p><p>At five minutes til eight, I was seated in my favorite char in the library, waiting, the book from earlier on my lap, unopened. I went to open it, figuring I’d look like I was doing something, but a servant appeared before I could.</p><p>“Your presence is requested in the ballroom, sir.”</p><p>The ballroom?</p><p>“Thank you,” I said automatically, setting the book aside and getting to my feet. I headed down to the old ballroom, near the opera house. Since moving in, I hadn’t bothered to have either restored, judging it to be a waste of time, as I was here for learning, not parties. Once Medivh returned, he appeared content to leave the changing of Karazhan to me. So that portion sat unused, dusty and worn.</p><p>As I walked down the stairs, I began to hear faint music drifting up towards me, almost recognizable, but not quite. The air smelled fresher too, less dust, more like soap, and lemons? Why lemons?</p><p>The final steps brought me into the ballroom, and I paused. Instead of a dusty, broken mess, the ballroom of my short time as Medivh’s apprentice spread before me, restored and glowing by the light of chandeliers. The floor gleamed, cleaned and polished, with the giant rugs across it as fresh as when they’d been laid, colours bright and textures plush. Throughout the room, ghosts danced in groups, replicating a popular country dance from hundreds of years before. A string quartet in the corner played soft music, music that somehow I could hear.</p><p>“Do you approve, Young Trust?”</p><p>He’d approached quietly, and I was too absorbed in the scene to be listening for him. “It’s beautiful,” I said, tearing my eyes away from the majesty of the ballroom. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like it.”</p><p>And then I saw him.</p><p>His dress robes were a rich, vibrant red, the colour of embers and flame, of a dragon’s fire, or cooling lava. They flowed around him like a maelstrom, edged in gold and black, with shoulders of black leather, fashioned to resemble raven’s feathers. The high collar kept his face shrouded in half shadow, hiding his expression from me. He held Atiesh in one hand, the polished wood glowing with an inner light under the chandeliers.</p><p>Everything paled in comparison to him.</p><p>“I-It’s-um, yes,” I finished, at a loss for words.</p><p>A smile flickered across his face, there and gone. “I hope I am not overstepping my bounds. Karazhan is yours now, I am merely here because of your good graces.”</p><p>“Oh no. This was your home long before it was mine, do with it as you wish. I just wasn’t expecting,” I waved around at the room, “all of this.”</p><p>“There’s a ball here every year, on this date. I thought that you might like to attend with me. We haven’t done anything fun in some time, Young Trust.”</p><p>I nodded, opened my mouth, and shut it again. <em>You’ll only ramble</em>, I told myself, <em>keep it together. </em></p><p>He said something, and Atiesh vanished, as if the great staff had never been there. Then, with a sweep of his robes, he bowed low to me.</p><p>I returned it, conscious of my being out of practice with courtly manners. The wobble in my bow didn’t seem to phase him though, and he regarded me gravely, and extended a hand.</p><p>“Would you do me the honour of a dance?”</p><p>I accepted his hand, allowing him to lead me out. He held me lightly, and we began to move. I was used to leading, but I found that within moments, I could follow effortlessly. He moved us about the floor, weaving about the groups and couples, whirling me about as if the entire room was ours, and ours alone. And truly, it was.</p><p>One song turned into two, and two into three, and I lost count. We danced and danced, and as the time went on, I found myself being held closer and closer. Not that I minded.</p><p>Finally, he stepped away, bowing to me.</p><p>“Refreshment?” He asked formally, holding out an arm. I took it, a bit self consciously, and he walked us to a corner, where sparkling glasses of wine and plates of cheese and fruit were laid out.</p><p>“I asked the cooks to prepare us something for tonight,” he explained, offering me a glass. “I didn’t know what you’d like.”</p><p>I sipped, finding it a good Dalaran white. “This is perfect.”</p><p>He chuckled, the sound warming me. “I thought you’d find a wine from your home city pleasing.”</p><p>I nodded, sipping again.</p><p>He plucked a grape from the tray, chewing thoughtfully. I took the moment to observe him, the angles of his face, his dark hair, all exposed while he thought.</p><p>“This is a wonderful night, thank you.”</p><p>“You are most welcome, my former apprentice. I only wished to give you a moment of happiness, however fleeting.”</p><p>I set my glass down. “I am always happy when I am with you, Medivh.”</p><p>There were shadows in his eyes. “I know I’ve brought you my fair share of pain. I can’t undo it, but perhaps I can make it less painful, going forward.”</p><p>I reached out, then hesitated.</p><p>He offered his hand again. “Another dance?”</p><p>How could I refuse?</p><p>The dances slowed, our movements more languid. I felt us getting closer together, and didn’t try and stop it. I may have encouraged it, drawn by him. We ended in each other’s arms, barely moving, as the lights in the room dimmed, and the music faded to nothing.</p><p>Medivh looked at me. “And so our night at the ball draws to an end. Thank you, Young Trust, for this evening.”</p><p>He moved to pull back, but I held him close. The magic of the night didn’t have to fade, not just yet. I leaned in, and he stilled. I paused a hair’s breadth from his mouth, hearing his sharp intake of breath. Slowly, he crossed the distance and met me, his lips warm and soft. The kiss was tentative, chaste. Perfect.</p><p>We pulled apart, eyes meeting. I reached up, brushing a strand of his hair back from his face. “No, <em>thank you</em>, Medivh. I shall remember this forever.”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm on Twitter now! <a href="https://twitter.com/IrielKayani">@IrielKayani</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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